Why I didn’t get any Saturday cleaning done today…..

Saturdays are usually the day I do most of my cleaning, organizing, and laundry.  I love working in my pajamas and deep cleaning my way through the house.  I don’t seem to get much done after working all day during the week, so I really need my weekends.

This morning I met up with some fun ladies I work with in my church.  We serve in the Young Women’s organization of our church-meaning we teach and associate with the young girls ages 12 to 18.  We had been wanting to make our classroom inviting and fun for the girls.

Today we got together and came up with some colorful, fun bulletin boards and other decorations.

 

I hope the girls will like it!

Today we also had a fun outing to Leatherby’s, an ice cream store.

And…

We want to wish a Happy Birthday to Coco!

He just turned one.

 

So…

After running some errands, making homemade Cauliflower soup, hanging out with family, and preparing for the upcoming surgery of my husband (he’s having a hip replaced) I haven’t even made a dent in my weekly cleaning.

And that is OK!

It was still a productive day.

JoAnn

P.S.  Do you find that some days you just have to let go of your obligations for other pressing obligations?

(Pretty sure they will still be there when I’m ready.)

Evolution of a fireplace wall…

Over the years our house style has slowly changed.  I guess considering we once wore bell bottom pants, plaid polyester leisure suits, and way too short of skirts, and we sported big hair and mustaches,  (I’m talking about my husband and myself- and no, I did not have the mustache and he has never worn skirts-long or short) we have changed our fashion sense as well.

Sometimes our fashion style was dictated by money (mostly the lack of it).  Often we got caught up in the trends of the day.  Anyone remember harvest gold or avocado green appliances, or hanging macramé?

Child-proofing/wear-and-tear measures also took a toll on our style.

And…

Sadly, there were times when we just didn’t know any better.

My husband just finished a mini remodel of our fireplace wall.  We He built a box for the television and installed shiplap to the wall.  (Yes, I know this is quite popular right now thanks to Chip and Joanna Gains-but I’m hoping it won’t be just a passing phase because I love the look of it.) 

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to document how the wall has changed over the years. 

Here is how it looks today.

You can see the look of the shiplap up close.

Here is our office wall with shiplap siding.  It is the same wall as the fireplace, just inside the French doors, so it’s sort of a continuation of the room.

The family room started out a neutral color, but I couldn’t find any pictures from that time period.  We got excited when the dark wall colors became popular and since the room is quite large and has plenty of big windows and good lighting, it seemed to work for us.  The wall color actually looked better in real life and with better lighting.

Does the old picture tube television give you a hint of the era?

A few years ago we decided to paint the bookcases and the mantel.  We also changed to a chocolate color wall.  We loved this change.

Eventually, our television was changed out for a larger, flat screen version-but it took up more room on the bookshelves, wasting a lot of space.  I had a hard time finding a picture that showed the television.  I guess I tried not to photograph that side of the room.

I think there might be one more change coming soon.  We talked about having the shiplap finish the wall and go to the corner.  Who knows if that will happen or not?  Any opinions?

Anyway, as I sit here typing this on my P.C. (thankfully, not my very old type-writer), smelling some hot, buttery popcorn coming from the microwave oven (not the old seldom used popcorn popper), I am grateful that change is a part of our lives.  Along the way we might make some mistakes or get caught up in fads and passing trends, but isn’t it great that we can wipe the slate clean and start over?

Isn’t that what life is all about?

Have a great week!

JoAnn

The Moment That Was January

I’ve always thought that January was a fleeting month.  Somehow it always passed very quickly, usually without any special fanfare or memory making activity.  We welcomed the new year, 2017.   We made some New Year resolutions.   Bam-its February!

Utah was blessed with plenty of snowfall- 167% of normal for January.  Blessed in that we need the water.  Maybe not so blessed in the hazardous driving conditions, constant shoveling of driveways, or the many indoor recesses at school.

Not only did we get snow, but it was COLD!

So, even though January was mostly a frigid-snowy-blur-of a month, there were some significant events that took place.

On one of the warmer days we found time to play out in the playhouse.  It was a fun break from being cooped up inside.

We also returned to Idaho for the sad occasion of attending the funeral of my brother-in-law Travis.  I wrote about our visit with Travis shortly before Christmas.  You can read that post here.  Right after we returned home, he was put on Hospice Care. 

He passed away on December 29, 2016.

We lost both of our parents right before and just after Christmas in 1987/1988 and it made the holiday very difficult for us.  (And each new year continues to bring back those bitter-sweet memories.) We all prayed that Travis could make it through Christmas and that they could have a peaceful time with their family.  My sister Julie is one of those people who always looks on life with a positive attitude and she decided that they were going to find the sweetness and joy in the situation and just enjoy spending time together taking care of him.  His pain was mostly managed and she said it was a beautiful, sweet experience.

Travis was a hero right to the end and Julie was his special ministering angel!

 

It was a lovely funeral with many friends and family attending.

You can read his obituary here.

So, while January flew by at record breaking speed, it will hold some powerful memories for me, and remind me to live each day with a little more courage and grace.

We sure love these beautiful ladies!

We will all miss Travis!

Thank goodness families can be together forever.

JoAnn

Happy Birthday!-Team Umizoomi style

Happy Second Birthday to this cutie, Naomi!

We missed some of her milestones and big life events, since she didn’t live close by, so now we’re excited to be celebrating her birthday in person. 

Doesn’t she look sweet in her new Team Unizoomi-knock off hat made by her Auntie Irene?  She loves that show, so what a perfect gift!

(Thanks, Irene!)

She shares her special day with her Uncle Andrew (who didn’t receive a cute knitted hat).

We are so glad her family decided to move to Utah!

Naomi and Paul helped me practice a new song on the piano.

Good thing I’m always leaving reading glasses all over the place.

They have adapted to the weather differences and the crunchy, fresh snow.

 

Happy Birthday to Naomi and Andrew!

Welcome to Utah!

JoAnn

A Little Beauty and a special delivery….

Sometimes in this busy life you have to stop, step back, and make a little detour in your plans.

Getting ready for the holidays has been a challenge, to say the least.  Shopping, wrapping gifts, parties, firesides, work, school gifts, neighbor gifts, recitals, cleaning, baking, and all the  wonderful, yet often overwhelming activities we plan and choose to participate in keep us more than busy.  Throw in a house full of recovering flu victims (of which I have managed to escape so far), a funeral, and some home projects, and the season can be down-right hectic.

Last weekend, two of my sisters planned a little special delivery surprise for our youngest sister, Julie, and her husband Travis, who has been battling liver cancer for about thirteen years and has recently been having some difficulties.  At the urging of my sisters (who are much more in tune with things than I am), we left behind our long “to-do” lists, braved the cold temperatures and snow, and headed north to Idaho to deliver some Christmas packages, festive treats, and a little cheer.

We completely surprised them.

It was a lovely visit.

We shed a few tears.

Christmas magic (that REAL kind of magic) was felt by all of us.

We didn’t stay long, and I’m pretty sure they will never be able to eat all the food we brought them, but it was a detour we needed and wanted to make.  (Thank you, thank you, for encouraging me to go!)  It was a small gesture of love and support for a dear family who is going through some tough times.

And that is what Christmas should be more about!

JoAnn

P.S.

♥Thank you to Linda’s husband David for driving us, and for his wonderful mother Zelma for the home-made bread, hot stew, warm beds, and then again for a delicious Sunday dinner.  She so reminded me of my own mother’s hosting abilities.

♥Thanks also for the bottles of home grown peaches, pears, cherries, and raspberries that Zelma sent to Julie and Travis.

(There is no comparison to delicious home bottled fruit and store bought canned fruit!)

♥  Thanks to Linda for taking the pictures of the pine trees at their in-law’s family farm, for working magic on them with special filters, and for letting me steal them for this blog.  (I did try to ask for permission, but she wasn’t answering her phone.)

♥Thank you Diane for coming up with the whole idea!

♥  Thank you for your prayers for Julie, Travis, and their family!

Light the World, 2016

A cute, young mother named Mindi, from my church ward,  gave me permission to share this photo.  These hands all belong to her sweet little family, as they took to heart the council given by our church leaders to “Light the World-Follow the Example of Jesus Christ” this Christmas season- 25 ways and 25 days to serve.

They started with one simple candle.  They taught their children a powerful lesson on spreading the light as they lit one candle, followed by that candle lighting another, until all their candles were shining brightly.

This is what Mindi wrote about their experience:

We started out with all the light off in the house and made sure it was as dark as could be. My kids said the dark made them feel scared and worried. Then I lit one candle that I was holding. This gave us hope, a way to see, comfort. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World (John 8:12), but he has also asked us to be a light to others (Matthew 5:14, 16). Then I lit my daughters candle, and she lit her brother's candle, and he lit my husband's candle, and lastly our other daughter's candle (who is only three and was making me very nervous holding a candle! ). We can be a light to others by serving them. Our Christmas Advent this year will be doing something to light the world everyday December 1-25. See the full calendar on mormon.org. Let's #LIGHTtheWORLD together.

Aren’t they are making wonderful memories with their children?

I was feeling badly that we hadn’t planned out any creative or fun service activities to do with our family yet, and we haven’t been as involved in following the suggested service ideas as I would have liked, when my husband reminded me that we have been busy helping our daughter and her family move in to our basement, we’re striving to serve in our church callings (I was just put in the Young Women’s organization and have been scrambling to keep up), and we’ve been helping babysit grand children while their parents took care of a sick little girl.  

I guess service comes in all shapes and sizes.

I know I’ve sure appreciated the help of our children doing simple things like putting up our Christmas tree, raking our leaves, and doing our Christmas shopping!

This Christmas season has just begun and there are still plenty of opportunities to give Christ-like service.  We all need to help make this world a happier place to be.

We hope to get involved in many different ways.  Even small and simple things can make a huge difference.

The following pictures capture some of the Christmas happenings in our little neck of the woods.  I hope you are having some great memory-making moments wherever you are, and that you are enjoying doing a little service for someone near you.  I would love to hear about some of the ways you serve others.  Please share.

 

Beautiful Temple Square:

t

“The Three Wisemen” at our church Christmas party:

We created my husband’s costume (he’s the one sitting) using an old bathrobe, a shower curtain, some foam insulation tubing, and some left over faux leopard material from a Halloween costume.  (15 minutes total time-if you don’t count giving the beard a good trim!)  He looked pretty convincing, wouldn’t you say?

 

The Christmas tree:

Thanks again, kids!  I love it.

If you would like to see a great video called, “Light the World”, click on the words below.  (I am the world’s worst at embedding a video!)

 

Light the World

 

Merry Christmas!

JoAnn

Waiting for the dust to settle….November was busy!

November has been one crazy month.  We’ve taken on a few “house projects”,  along with all the other things that come with a seasonal change, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means still more busy times are ahead.  I guess you could say we continue to live in a whirlwind. 

Little Aubrey spent most of last week at Primary Children’s Hospital, with breathing problems.  She has asthma and that always makes things more challenging.  She had a hard time leaving her oxygen mask on, and some creative nurses gave her this new doll to encourage her.  There are so many kind, creative people out there. She is now home and getting better.

We have been making room for these cuties and their parents to move in our basement.  Their parents are relocating to Utah for schooling and a job change.  We are so excited to have them closer and part of our every day living adventures.  We have done a lot of de-junking and down sizing to get ready.  It has been a slow process, but we are so excited to have our house streamlined and we really look forward to having them here and getting to know their children better!  They are excited to have cousins to play with.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year.  (Yes, this post took a long time to finish.)  Since some of our children were with their in-laws (at least they are on the same off-year schedule), we combined with my sister Linda and her husband, Dave, and their daughter Melissa and her husband Mitch.  It was different because there were no little children, but we enjoyed the quiet day-at just one table!  My husband and I still managed to spill on the new table cloth. 

We participated in the Shane Mitchell memorial walk.  We may or may not have walked much, but we always think of Shane and miss him so much.  Wishing our parents, grandparents, and Aunt Mardene, were here today, too.  It is funny how strong the memories are of the way they contributed to the day.  Nobody makes hot rolls like my mother did, and Ken’s mom was such a good sport to play with the kids.  I’d give anything for some of Grandma Palmer’s bread pudding with caramel sauce.  I never really liked the pudding, but the sauce was heavenly.  (Think 1 part pudding to 10 parts caramel sauce!)  The napping men remind us of our busy dads catching a few quiet minutes on a rare day off. 

Our family always loves being together.

So, even though this month flew by at record breaking speed, it was a good month.  We have many blessings to be grateful for!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, with delicious traditional foods, happy memories, and time spent with your loved ones!

Happy Thanksgiving!

JoAnn